Tuesday 30 October 2018

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x04 - Arachnids in the UK

Doctor Who 11x04 - Arachnids in the UK

With space and time both neatly ticked off this week Doctor Who returns home for another present day adventure, and it's sure to be one that'll get certain fans' spines tingling. Arachnophobia sufferers beware, because there's Arachnids in the UK and in 2018 things are going to be looking a little more realistic than they did back in 1974's Planet of the Spiders. The fourth episode in series 11 was written by showrunner Chris Chibnall, and directed by Sallie Aprahamian.

Thursday 25 October 2018

Anime REVIEW: FLCL: Alternative


Some anime series wait years to get a sequel. Others wait years and then not only get one, but two almost simultaneously. This was exactly the case for beloved cult classic FLCL (aka Fooly Cooly), which after 18 years didn't only just come back in the form of the six-part FLCL: Progressive, but also spun off in a different direction with another six-part series - FLCL: Alternative. Like Progressive this new series doesn't have any input from original co-creators Gainax, instead coming solely from Production I.G. in collaboration with Toho and Adult Swim. As the series was first released through Adult Swim, for the time being only the English dubbed version is available to Western fans. We did however get a taste for Alternative in its original language earlier in the year, with the first episode airing subtitled as part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools' Day shenanigans.

Tuesday 23 October 2018

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x03 - Rosa

Doctor Who 11x03 - Rosa

It started off in present day, it's gone off into outer space and so by the law of averages it's now time for Doctor Who to tackle the past in its third episode of series 11. Simply titled Rosa, this is an episode that takes the show back to its semi-educational roots and brings the timeless story of civil rights activist Rosa Parks to a whole new audience. Once again directed by Mark Tonderai, the episode is notable for being co-written (alongside showrunner Chris Chibnall) by Malorie Black – the first black writer for the show in its 55 year history.

Saturday 20 October 2018

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x02 - The Ghost Monument

Doctor Who 11x02 - The Ghost Monument

The woman has now fallen to Earth, and now it's time for her to take to the skies with new friends in tow as Doctor Who series 11 continues with The Ghost Monument. This may be the second episode in the series but it still has plenty of "firsts" on offer too, the most significant of those being the new title sequence and new look TARDIS. The Ghost Monument was written by series showrunner Chris Chibnall and directed by series newcomer Mark Tonderai, who has previously directed episodes of both Gotham and Black Lightning.

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers: The Ride 3D Deluxe Class Evac


Release Date: 2012
RRP: $30

I recently went on a trip to Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, and quite a lot has changed since I was last there about a decade ago. For a start the park (along with the ones in Singapore and California) now is host to Transformers: The Ride 3D - a motion vehicle 3D ride where passengers assist NEST in defending the last shard of the Allspark from a Decepticon attack. Passengers board the Autobot Evac as they race through both NEST facility and the nearby city, fighting against the likes of Ravage, Bonecrusher, Devasator, Grindor, Starscream and of course Megatron alongside Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Optimus Prime. Evac is a Transformer created exclusively for the ride, and is also available in toy form exclusively at Universal Studios gift stores. This deluxe class figure has been available consistently since 2012 and probably will continue to be until the ride eventually closes, which is a pretty impressive production run when you think about it.

Friday 19 October 2018

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x01 - The Woman Who Fell To Earth

Doctor Who 11x01 - The Woman That Fell to Earth

Doctor Who has returned to television screens once again, and this time it's a debut that could give even the 2005 revival a run for its money in terms of anticipation. The show that's built itself on change continues to grow as it welcomes Jodie Whittaker, the 13th Doctor and the first woman in the 55 year old role. That isn't the only new thing the show's 11th series has to offer either, as it also brings along a new head writer in the form of Chris Chibnall, new companions, a new TARDIS, a new logo, a new episode running time and even a new airdate as it moves from Saturday evenings to Sunday for the first time since its revival. That's a lot of changes, and these changes have brought about a lot of discussion - both for better and for worse. But amidst all the speculation and damnation, there was one message that was clear - no one knew exactly what these changes would bring until we saw them in action. Series 11 kicks off with The Woman Who Fell to Earth, a special 65 minute episode to welcome in this new era.

First Impressions: SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman
SSSS.Gridman is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll

2018-2019 is proving to be a rather busy time for Studio Trigger. They collaborated earlier in the year with A-1 Pictures on Darling in the Franxx, hit the big screen the beginning of next year with Promare and even have a Kill la Kill video game in the works. But for tokusatsu fans, there's one particular Trigger project that stands out from them all. The studio have teamed up with Ultraman creators Tsuburaya Productions to create SSSS.Gridman - a brand new anime adaptation of the TsuPro's 1994 series Denkou Chojin Gridman (adapted in the US as Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad). This isn't the first time Trigger have dabbled with Gridman either, having previously brought its cancelled sequel hero Gridman Sigma to life in their Japan Animator Expo short boys invent great hero. Sandwiched between the GARO series and the forthcoming Ultraman manga Netflix series, it's a pretty great time for tokusatsu anime adaptations.

Friday 5 October 2018

Anime REVIEW: Cells at Work!

Cells at Work!
Cells at Work! is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll 

Anthropomorphism – the one thing that will ensure that anime never runs out of ideas. From monsters and countries to guns and warships, the act of turning things into marketable moe has always proven to be particularly popular. Now 2018 has shown that won't be changing any time soon with the release of Cells at Work! (Hataraku Saibou), adapted from the ongoing manga series of the same name by Akane Shimizu. This time it’s the turn of the human body, turning the millions of cells inside of us all into a whole selection of memorable characters. Running for a total of 13 episodes and animated by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure maestros David Production, Japan's answer to Osmosis Jones might just be the series you didn't know you wanted but secretly have always needed.